Dennis Schröder has lost his first game with the Boston Celtics. At the New York Knicks, the Celts suffered a 134:138 defeat after double overtime in a thrilling game, although Jaylen Brown set a new career high.
New York Knicks (1-0) – Boston Celtics (0-1) 138:134 OT (BOXSCORE)
The Celtics All-Star was on his way to career high with 25 points in the first half, but was initially defended much better in the second half. However, towards the end of regular time he thawed out again and, among other things, hit a crazy three from the Knicks logo, which made the first overtime possible in the first place. In the end he scored an outstanding 46 points (16/30 FG, 8/14 trebles), and yet it wasn’t enough.
Brown was out in the preseason due to a COVID infection and noted the consequences: “My breathing felt irregular, but it was fine most of the time,” Brown said. “By the end I could feel my heart beating through my chest – the adrenaline took over.”
The hosts also had an all-star: Julius Randle scored 35 points and, like in the previous season, excelled with his shot and playmaking (12/27 FG, 9 assists). He received active support from Evan Fournier (32 points), who terrorized his former team, especially in overtime. RJ Barrett (19) and Obi Toppin (14) also did a good job.
Kemba Walker put in an unremarkable performance (10 points) on his debut for New York and was nonetheless happy to be “home” again at Madison Square Garden. “The energy here is second to none,” said Walker.
At the Celtics, Brown received too little support from his All-Star colleague: Jayson Tatum barely hit anything (20 points, 10 rebounds, but 7/30 FG and 2/15 three-pointers). Robert Williams (16, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks), Grant Williams and Marcus Smart (15 each) helped, but it wasn’t enough, especially since Dennis Schröder didn’t get off to a good start either.
The Braunschweiger came off the bench and scored 12 points (5/16 FG), plus 8 assists with only 2 turnovers. However, Schröder left an open layup in the second overtime and looked unhappy defensively from time to time.
Jaylen Brown starts red hot against the Knicks
The Knicks got off to a lightning start 8-0 for the first two minutes, but Boston quickly recovered and took control before long. This was mainly due to Brown, who scored 20 points in the first quarter (7/9 FG!) and thus led a Celtics team that was particularly hot from downtown (6/9 three). Randle dug at the other end to 11 points, after an entertaining first quarter Boston was 35-29.
The guests initially threatened to break away, but lost their rhythm without Brown on the court. Randle, on the other hand, got stronger and led a 14-0 run, his physique presented massive problems for Boston. Fournier dubbed the Knicks lead before Schröder scored his first points as Celtic via a layup and leveled the game again. Then the previously weak Tatum finally hit two shots, and Boston went into the half-time break at 58:54.
In the third quarter, the Knicks were on the trigger. Boston managed to stage Brown far less often, the game often got agitated, and ball losses increased. The Knicks repeatedly used these to get transition points, especially Toppin and Barrett, who scored 14 points in the last six minutes of the quarter, found their way into the game. Barrett was also the one who gave his team the lead with a three-pointer, which the Knicks then extended to 10 points early in the fourth quarter.
Derrick Rose puts the finishing touch to insane closing stages
The game seemed already decided, but Boston was there again in the final minutes: The Celtics forced turnovers, Grant and Robert Williams came to shots, it became an 8-0 run and 11.5 seconds before the end the Knicks led from free throws from the Time Lord only with 112:110. Fournier hit a layup with 9 seconds remaining after the Celtics time out, Brown pushed in a deep three. With 4.8 seconds left, Randle hit two free throws, the Knicks could have fouled but didn’t and watched Schröder serve Smart, who sent the game into overtime from the three-point line.
The crazy shotmaking continued in overtime, with both teams hitting their first four shots. With 20 seconds left, the Celtics had the ball after a Randle miss in a tie and was able to beat the clock. Tatum went into isolation but missed his jumper wide – it needed another overtime. In OT2 there was no more shotmaking – in the truest sense of the word. Brown hit a three, then Schroeder misplaced a layup and Brown himself put a completely open dunk to the ring.
In the final minute, it was Fournier again who gave the Knicks a three-pointer, then Derrick Rose increased the lead to +4 with a floater across the board. With 22 seconds remaining, Brown, Tatum and Schröder all had fairly open chances from downtown. They all missed, however, and the Knicks ended up winning in one of the wildest season openers in NBA history.
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